subject: Polar Cruise to Spitsbergen and Where Bush Meets Beach [print this page] Polar Cruise to Spitsbergen and Where Bush Meets Beach
Bear sighting, 600 yards to starboard' It was one of those moments that instantly becomes permanently etched on one's memory"
We were only two days into our Spitsbergen Cruise aggressively shouldering our way through thick pack ice only 600 odd miles from The North Pole, when the ship's tannoy crackled into life: 'Bear sighting, 600 yards to starboard'. It was one of those moments that instantly becomes permanently etched on one's memory. The reverberation of hastened footsteps rang out across the ship as breakfasts were hastily abandoned and the cabins emptied as we scrambled for our first sighting of the main driving force that had propelled us all north into Spitsbergen's icy wastes: The White Bear.
Widely distributed across the Arctic region, it's Spitsbergen or Svalbard as the Norwegians call it, that rightly in our opinion lays claim to being the best place to see polar bears in their Arctic wilderness environment. Estimated to number over 3,000, that's more bears than people, sightings as a result are near guaranteed. Combined with its renown as the most wildlife-rich part of the whole Arctic, eye-popping glaciers and relatively easily access via Oslo from London, Spitsbergen's allure is compelling and it certainly didn't disappoint.
This was my first foray into polar waters, but I quickly got to grips with the informal routine aboard our expeditionary ice strengthened ship. A ship I discovered offers undoubtedly the best platform for exploration and wildlife sightings in Arctic waters, with more than enough opportunity to get off the boat to do daily landings by zodiac, which is lots of fun, and walks on the tundra for even the most inactive landlubber.
That first polar bear sighting remains the high point of an extraordinary trip sprinkled with many other highlights - from watching immense glaciers carving, to a ringside seat to the sounds and smell of a large walrus 'haul-out' - and undoubtedly I returned home with a touch of 'polar fever' for this extraordinary region.
For more information please do not hesitate to ring the voyages team on 01285 880981. For more information on our range of Arctic cruises, including Cruises to Spitsbergen, Greenland, The North Pole, Russian and Canadian Arctic can be found in the Cruises and Voyages section.
35km of vast uninterupted, unihabited beach, remote, unexploited & wild, this is the true meaning of where bush meets beach. I was lucky enough to visit the Tana Delta, on the northern coast of Kenya in March of this year with my husband, David.
The Tana Delta is a unique & diverse wetland area, the only one of its kind in East Africa with incredible birdlife, shade dappled creeks, large pods of hippo's & basking crocodiles on the banks of the Tana river. I grew up in Kenya, and had been to the Tana many years ago. Quite often childhood memories take a different shape over time & ones expectations grow, this however, did not disappoint! With 360o panoramic views, the castaway style rooms of the Delta Dunes Lodge are tucked away in the rolling, rippling dunes amongst the large shade of the indigenous coastal forest.
Both sitting on the verandah in the early morning sipping freshly made coffee as the sun rose over the Indian Ocean, David was watching a fish eagle hard at work eyeing its unsuspecting victim waiting for the moment it would fling itself off the doum palm and swoop down, talons first, into the water, whilst I was watching a pod of bottlenose dolphins playing in the breakers in shore. Sand dollars in abundance, lion tracks on the beach, baboons catching crabs, exciting game tracking... this is a place I could go back to time and time again. We had bird watching trips up the tributaries, game viewing river excursions, cultural tours, fishing trips, sundowners, floating across the river mouth on rubber rings, early morning bush walks, sand yachting, kayaking.
You can do as much or as little as you like. Fabulous for honeymooners and families alike, a truly amazing place and fantastic experience and one I will cherish.
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